VERGE

HPE's Martin Fink on the pursuit of a greener Internet

As both the volume and the power of data grow exponentially, there is increased demand to reduce the energy use of computing.

Martin Fink, chief technology officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, spoke to GreenBiz Editor in Chief Joel Makower about how he believes we can design this desired greener Internet during the VERGE 2015 conference in San Jose, California.

"We can dramatically increase the amount of data we process, but keep the energy envelope similar to what it is today," said Fink.

Fink discussed the potential technology changes that could make this happen: "At the core is something we call 'non-volatile memory,' which uses no energy unless it's being accessed." But the transformation also may need redesigning of the overarching architecture of data storage, movement and access — namely, moving much of computing work from centralized data servers to the "edge devices" in the broader Internet of Things.

When is this paradigm shift in computing architecture predicted to take place? The changes are already underway, but Fink said that we'll be looking at a very different data system within five to 10 years.